"Adventurous theater in Astoria"
-New York Times
BROADWAY RECORDS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF MARGUERITE,
A NEW MUSICAL BASED ON THE LIFE OF CANADA’S FIRST FEMALE SAINT, STARRING CADY HUFFMAN
​
Broadway Records has announced the release of MARGUERITE, a new musical starring Tony, Drama Desk & Outer Critics' Circle Award winner Cady Huffman. Pre-orders for the CD of MARGUERITE are available today on BroadwayRecords.com and other major music retailers including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com ahead of a March 5th release. The digital album is now available wherever digital music is sold and on BroadwayRecords.com.
MARGUERITE is written by Anton Dudley (book & lyrics) and Michael Cooper (music). The show received its New York premiere at Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) with direction by Dev Bondarin and music direction by Yan Li.
You've never met anyone like her. A death-defying journey of a fearless pioneer, MARGUERITE is a new musical based on the life of Canada’s first female saint, Marguerite Bourgeoys, and will inspire with a tale of love, inclusion, and living life without walls. Her ever-present faith combined with solid determination helped her bring liberated women to the New World and to build the city of Montreal.
The recording of MARGUERITE is produced by Dev Bondarin and Jeff Griffin, executive produced by Christina Goode and Martha Goode, engineered and mixed by Mike Pettry, and mastered by Anthony Spinnato.
ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ANNOUNCES NEW HOME
AND RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES
​
Astoria, NY—November 19, 2020—Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) has announced that it will celebrate its 20th season by establishing a new home in the space formerly known as the Secret Theatre in Long Island City, Queens. APAC will present much of its future programming at the venue and, for the first time in its history, this award-winning Off-Off Broadway theater company will have a dedicated performance space to call its own. APAC presents a full season of plays and musicals annually and also offers a variety of arts education and performance programs for youth, students, and seniors.
​
“APAC is thrilled to finally put down permanent roots in our own theater space,” says Board President, Shelly Felder. “It affords us an opportunity to bring even more innovative theater to Queens. We are grateful to The Indie Theater Fund and IndieSpace for their assistance in the transition to our new venue.”
​
Beginning in 2021, APAC will launch a fundraising campaign to provide residencies to local artists and organizations with a specific focus on new and underrepresented voices. The fund will support the development of new works of theater, dance, film, and music. “With the establishment of these residencies, we look forward to providing opportunities to artists to develop meaningful work and also to giving our audience members access to art from an even broader spectrum of creators” said Dev Bondarin, APAC’s Artistic Director. For more information and to donate to the fund or APAC, please visit www.apacny.org.
​
APAC’s 2021 season began with streaming performances of American Arcana by Cyndi Williams and will continue with the radio play Stuff by Astoria-based playwright Mrinalini Kamath, as well as the postponed revival of Man of La Mancha in addition to new and expanded community programs and more.
​
About APAC
Astoria Performing Arts Center is an award-winning non-profit theater company dedicated to engaging the residents of Astoria, Long Island City, and greater Queens in contemporary social and cultural issues through live performance and arts education. Established in 2001, APAC has produced a diverse mix of new plays and reimagined musicals and developed dozens of new works. APAC also provides a robust array of community and arts education programs that offer writing and performing opportunities to students, seniors, and residents of all ages with and without disabilities. Recent productions include the New York premieres of Marguerite by Michael Cooper and Anton Dudley featuring Tony Award-winner Cady Huffman and Jump by Charly Evon Simpson directed by Arpita Mukherjee, the AUDELCO Award-winning revival of Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori directed by Dev Bondarin, New York premiere of Queen by Madhuri Shekar.
​